Wanted: Crime-solving bacteria and body odor

Forensic investigators move past old-school sleuthing techniques to collar criminals

photograph of miniature crime scene by Frances Glessner Lee

CSI: SCIENCE  From fingerprints to blood splatters to DNA, people leave all sorts of traces at the scene of a crime. To help identify suspects, scientists are beefing up classic forensic techniques, and coming up with new ones. One day, microbes and odors from a suspect’s body may give investigators additional pieces of evidence to examine.

Corinne Botz

Forensic biologist Silvana Tridico was puzzled by pubic hair.